4-80: The Summit Meeting – The Real Story (4/5)

4-80: The Summit Meeting – The Real Story (4/5)

Shinichi smiled at Mikoto with pity as though such brazen provocation wasnt even worth listening to.

Mikoto laughed as though pleased, but her expression suggested the exact opposite.

Oh my, how impenitent.

Indeed, you are very impertinent.

The old woman criticized him, but the boy threw those criticisms right back at her.

Unlike, Shouko, who watched that exchange while giggling, the old man just wanted to go home.

He thought of his beloved futon back at home and counted the stains on the ceiling to escape reality.

In the end, you didnt answer anything Arent you curious, Shouko-chan? Why he didnt save Tomoe-chan and the others right away?

With a wry smile, Mikoto spoke to Shouko, who was floating right next to Shinichi, as though to say that they were both guilty here.

Huh? Oh, not really I mean, thats what a master does, no?

But the only response Mikoto got was that of surprise.

The way Shouko saw it, Shinichi would have been a failure as a master had he jumped in to save his disciples at the slightest sign of trouble.

Oh, right You were that kind of person.

Shouko preferred the kindness of pushing people away than the sweetness of protection.

Thats why she never trusted Mikoto.

The fact that she was floating there beside Shinichi since the moment she manifested was proof of her distrust.

Shes completely on his side, huh.

But even then Wasnt there something else he could have done?

But you knew that, right? Shouko seemed to say with her eyes, and Shinichi could only wryly smile with a nod.

If she was always so sharp, shed be able to go much further, though.

But he pointed out that she still had a long way to go.

For some reason, there was a tinge of envy and childlike wonder in his eyes.

The elders found that strange for they were just like the eyes of a normal person admiring a genius.

You were amazing too, though. You so easily kicked away that monster, after all, Mikoto said.

And you were so surprised you looked like your jaw was about to drop. You had a face on you that seemed to say, why is Masquerade here?

But Mikoto didnt bring that up and just continued to bicker with Shinichi.

She smiled an unsmiling smile while making it clear that shed noticed him too, and Shinichi returned that tit-for-tat, while Shouko just laughed, and the old mans countenance withered.

Fu fu, I was saved thanks to that. Somebody knew about the threat of the demon sword but kept quiet, so thank you. Most of the evil ki was destroyed by that, so Tomoe was able to fight. As expected, even Kamunagi(Im) still too green to fight against a 2,000 years class sword.

If not for that, she wouldnt have even been able to clash with it, Shouko admitted with gratitude.

Shouko happily smiled at Shinichi while shrewdly spitting poison at someone, but Shinichi just looked uncomfortable.

My, you really are bad at receiving gratitude. Are your feet alright? Of course, Im talking about your feet.

If she didnt make it clear that it was his feet she was referring to, he probably wouldnt understand, or at least thats what the expression on her seemed to say.

Shinichi was annoyed by that a little, but he let it pass since it was his fault anyway and responded amidst his sighs.

Since she noticed, there was no point in hiding it anymore.

Thanks to you. Tomoe would have probably noticed if she touched me there, but its healed already.

It turns out that Tomoes guess was spot on, but the problem, however, was not that he made the demon sword disappear, but that he kicked Michizane with all his might to save them from the flames.